Summer completion planned for St. Ambrose Apartments

The St. Ambrose Apartments -- a 26-unit multifamily development in Evanston replacing the now demolished St. Leger Apartments -- will be open later this summer, according to the project's developer.

Bobby Maly, chief operating officer of the Walnut Hills-based Model Group, said people are expected to move into the apartment soon after construction has been completed.

Developing the St. Ambrose is part of a four-year implementation of a neighborhood improvement plan that focuses on the Five Points area.

Demolition began on the 81 units part of St. Leger Apartments in July. The site had become a haven for drugs, vandalism and violence, and razing the buildings helped renew residents’ faith in their east-side Cincinnati neighborhood.

"From working with the community, it became very clear that in order to improve the neighborhood, something needed to be done about St. Leger," Maly said.

Maly said the St. A

mbrose development complements other Model Group developments in the neighborhood. The company has invested $13 million in the area in the last four years to create 44 LEED-certified affordable units for families, a commercial storefront, and the renovation of two single family homes.

The company's property management division will manage the St. Ambrose.

The name St. Ambrose was picked to honor Evanston as the “Educating Community” as well as its religious history and proximity to St Francis DeSales and Xavier University. St. Ambrose is the patron saint of learning.

"Our goal is for St. Ambrose to have a positive impact on the community and spur further economic growth in the area," Maly said.

The St Ambrose development compliments our other developments in the neighborhood well